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i'm considering buying a 2009 SL63 AMG, and was hoping for some direction from you experts as to what to look for and what to ask the dealer about. it has relatively low mileage (80K kms or 49K miles) and appears in excellent condition. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Porsche guy who drives SL63 w/ perf pkg AND perf suspension
the star is missing on the engine cover, it doesnt have the perf pkg. Other than that, cant see anything. You have to have the car inspected by a mb dealer and have them look up the service history before you know anything. And get a carfax. 09 had engine problems, ask the dealer to check that
I purchased a 2011 SL63 last November after casually shopping Autotrader and Carguru listings for over 1 year. I second the recommendation to get a Carfax and as much service history as possible. Even then, there's often not enough detail to know what hidden problems might be waiting for you. Here's what I missed on my SL and some things you might want to look out for:
Steering rack has a very slow leak - common problem for this model, mostly of a nuisance issue.
Tire tread depth looked good on all tires, but I missed some accelerated wear on the very inside edge of one of the front tires. Wheel alignment is apparently another common problem with some MBs. MB Dealership took a half day to try and bring it in alignment and failed. Finally got it corrected today with a K-Mac camber kit which seems to be the solution of choice for many in this forum - although my indie mech. was not impressed with the quality of the pricey K-mac kit.
Distronic adaptive cruise will not stay engaged. Again, MB Dealer(s) could not accurately diagnose the problem, but I think it may be the SAM module. Still waiting to replace it.
Engine mounts - Dealer said one was leaking even though they looked new. Just replaced along with trans mount.
Active Body Control - if you roam the forums, you'll see an abundance of posts about issues with ABC. I have not experienced any issues, except that I noticed the fluid from the steering rack leak is more of an amber color indicating it's somewhat degraded and in need of a flush. Fresh fluid has a greenish tint. If you check the reservoir and the hydraulic fluid is dark brown that might be a red flag.
I believe if you look around online or in the MB forums, you should be able to find some more comprehensive buying guides - I think you should expect there will at least be some minor issues to address on a 10 year old car at a dealership, but a pre-purchase inspection from someone that knows MB's would be invaluable and could save you a lot of headaches. At the end of the day, I don't regret my purchase and if I had spotted the issues I listed beforehand would most likely still have gone ahead with the purchase - although I might have been able to knock a few more $$ off the price with that knowledge.
Go with what your gut tells you. Even car doesn’t have P030, it’s still an SL63.
recommendations for sure would be PPI from MB dealeship and if you can get an extended warranty, definitely do so, it’s going to be much much needed!
some things to consider:
engine and tranny mounts
gateway modules, tele aide modules can get faulty can cause electrical gremlin drain!
all wheel alignment
infamous ABC (all components should be looked into)
head bolts, yes it affected the early SL63, but not all of them, it seems to be more prominent with the W204 C63 though
other than that, the car is a damn blast to drive. Enjoy and good luck
Make sure to get PPI. Probably only run anywhere from $100 to $250 at MB dealership.
Head bolts on those are one of the issues to look into to see if it has been dealt with. It's just one of those things that some have the issue and other have 100K on them with no problems what so ever.
ABC is the major thing that the PPI can usually tell you if you got issues ready to pop up. The systems isn't cheap to work on unless you do it yourself and its still can get pricey for certain parts.
Engine and Tranny mounts are another popular failure part. PPI will also tell the condition of those.
Check the tires all out. A lot of these cars are garage queens and even though the tires might look good they could be dried out and hard as rock. With the torque these cars have that last things you need is bad tires. Floor at 45 to 55 and if you feel the tires break loose chances you need new tires regardless of tread depth.
You can get a lot of car for the money with these but just make sure to get PPI as it could literally save you thousands right around the corner.
Last edited by skylolow; Mar 30, 2019 at 05:48 PM.
This may confuse more than help, but a word of caution when getting advice from a dealership. I was advised by one dealer that one of my motor mounts was leaking, but that otherwise the condition looked acceptable. I brought my SL there to look into an issue with the adaptive cruise control, but with 40k on the clock and a tendency for mounts to be a regular maintenance item, I convinced my indie to go ahead and replace them along with the trans. mount. My indie showed me the mounts that came out - neither were leaking or really showing any signs of wear.
Dealer revenue depends significantly on service income and their business strategy is to look for problems and recommend service that in some cases is unnecessary. My previous experience with a different local dealer, however, was much more positive in that they brought me out into the service area and the mechanic was able to show me where he had a concern while the car was on a lift. I was surprised that they allowed me into the the service garage, but certainly appreciated being able to speak directly with the mechanic and see first hand where he had a concern. If you're getting maintenance recommendations second hand from a service associate, I'd take that info with the proverbial grain of salt.
Mercedes SL63 AMG; Mercedes E63 AMG S 4matic; Mercedes C43 AMG; Mercedes S Class, Mercedes GLK
I've had mine since ~2012 and it has been pretty problem free. Based on all the issues with head bolts (referenced above and lots on literature on C63 forum - you should read) I decided to proactively change them and upgraded valve buckets to SLS model at the same time. All round mine ended up being in good shape but the $4,000 it cost was worth it to me for peace of mind. Other than regular maintenance only thing I've fixed was an ABC accumulator. Cost me a few hundred dollars.
This may confuse more than help, but a word of caution when getting advice from a dealership. I was advised by one dealer that one of my motor mounts was leaking, but that otherwise the condition looked acceptable. I brought my SL there to look into an issue with the adaptive cruise control, but with 40k on the clock and a tendency for mounts to be a regular maintenance item, I convinced my indie to go ahead and replace them along with the trans. mount. My indie showed me the mounts that came out - neither were leaking or really showing any signs of wear.
Dealer revenue depends significantly on service income and their business strategy is to look for problems and recommend service that in some cases is unnecessary. My previous experience with a different local dealer, however, was much more positive in that they brought me out into the service area and the mechanic was able to show me where he had a concern while the car was on a lift. I was surprised that they allowed me into the the service garage, but certainly appreciated being able to speak directly with the mechanic and see first hand where he had a concern. If you're getting maintenance recommendations second hand from a service associate, I'd take that info with the proverbial grain of salt.
+1 10 years ago when I bought my E55 took it to dealer for warranty work quotation for $4K. Turn out my car has no issue at all. Only did valve gasket $300 and other stuff so total cost was about 600
The dealer tried to get the most money out from service and since then not many issues with my car.
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